NATIONAL BRIEFING | VETERANS AFFAIRS; Source Of Infections Tough To Show, a V.A. Official Says

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: May 9, 2009

Former patients who tested positive for H.I.V. or hepatitis will not be able to show they were infected by tainted equipment at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals, a top doctor for the agency said. Dr. Jim Bagian, the V.A.'s chief patient safety officer, said the patients would not be able to prove they were even exposed to endoscopic equipment not properly sterilized. It was discovered in December that equipment was either not properly cleaned or set up. Five patients have tested positive for H.I.V., and 33 have tested positive for hepatitis since February, when the department started notifying more than 11,000 people treated at three V.A. medical centers to receive follow-up blood checks because they could have been exposed to infectious body fluids.